To prevent young children from entering a pool area without supervision, safety pool fences are usually required by law. These safety pool fences include a self latching device which is arranged to operate automatically on closing of the gate of the fence and prevents the gate from being reopened without manual releasing of the mechanism. Usually a self closing mechanism such as spring hinges is also provided on the gate to bias the gate to a closed position.
A typical latch device for a pool gate incorporates a latch bolt which is arranged to strike a rotatable notched disc located in a recess in the adjacent fence post. Striking of the disc by the latch bolt causes the disc to rotate and capture the latch. A problem exists with this type of self latching device in that a certain amount of force is required by the latch bolt to rotate the disc. In the past, it has been found that these self latching devices sometimes do not operate properly when the gate is released just off its closed position. In these instances, as the gate moves under the influence of the self closer towards its closed position the latch bolt does not strike the rotatable disc with sufficient force to cause rotation of the disc. Consequently, the self latching device does not engage properly and although the gate appears closed it is not latched.